This year, while pruning in the garden, we cut our kiwi tree back quite a lot and ended up with loads of beautiful gnarled and twisted off cuts. The Bavarian was all set to chuck them in the shredder, but I managed to rescue a nice stack of the best ones, with the intention of making some kind of Easter tree or wreath. There were enough to share them out among three good friends.
When I took the branches inside the other day to decorate with, the idea hit me that I could use them along the bannister. Each year at the beginning of Advent, I decorate our staircase with lights, ribbons and a garland. For the whole month of December I love that moment when I open the front door and catch a glimpse of the stairs, all festive and lovely. So I have modified it to suit Easter.
My litttle helper was mostly very well behaved. He did manage to smash three eggs, inclusing one of my favourites, but it was foolish of me to get involved in an activity with eggs shells when an 18 month old was roaming free. Funnily enough, the red egg that is getting a good shaking in the photo above survived.
I began by carefully weaving the branches between the uprights of the banniser, keeping the most curved, curly-wurly pieces to the front as far as possible. Then, when I was happy with how they were arranged, I began to hang my painted eggs on the branches.
I have quite a collection of decorative eggs. Some of the eggs are from second hand shops; some I painted myself and the remainder are from Aldi. All are real eggs, blown and painted.
Tomorrow I am holding a make & bake day, so the branches may well get further adorned with bunnies, chicks or freshly painted eggs that result. There’ll be five mamas and 12 children under 8 here for the afternoon.
In this house we love our Easter crafts, so I’m very excited about what we’ll produce. There will be Easter bunny cakes for sure, and no German Easter is complete without dyeing hard-boiled eggs. But more on that another day.
For now, I am quite pleased with the overall Easter look. It brightens up the hall, adds a few pops of colour and keeps the eggs out of harm’s way. By harm I of course mean son Number Three.
Really love this decoration project. The eggs are beautiful. My littles is 1 and would love to play with the eggs. I am going to save this idea for future. I am new to your blog. Off to explore but thrilled to find a new blog to read. Happy Easter!
Thank you Christina. Yes, probably safer to leave this for a year or two 😉 Have a look around the blog. I hope you enjoy it. We’ve tons of crafts and interiors.
Happy Easter to you too!
Oh my, it looks absolutely beautiful! How do your blown eggs survive from one year to the next (small children notwithstanding)? I’m planning on doing a bit of decorating for Easter this weekend but not as pretty as yours. Have a lovely crafty afternoon tomorrow 🙂
Thanks Louisa. To be honest, I don’t know how we haven’t smashed more. Last year I put them all into a big glass vase and put them away in the guest room where the children couldn’t get at them.
Oh, this is lovely! I remember blowing and painting eggs with my mum when I was little – it’s brought back lots of memories. I’m jealous of your staircase – we have a rubbish one in the middle of the house with walls on both sides rather than a bannister, so no garlands for us. #HomeEtc
Blowing eggs, or rather painting blown eggs, is such a lovely tradition I think. Good old-fashioned fun.
The staircase was one of the things that sold this house to us. It is the typical mid-century style in German. This was actually built as a council house believe it or not.
My sister has a stairs that sounds like yours. She has plenty of wall space to hang something but the stairs to too narrow. Anything, even a picture, would get knocked off the wall. Such a pity.
Oh it looks fabulous! The eggs are beautiful and the branches so unusual.
Thanks Nicola. I’m glad I rescued those branches from the garden.
This looks so pretty, I love decorating for Easter but haven’t started yet and am running out of time.
Great job
#homeetc
Thank you! Over the last few years Easter has become a big thing in our house, decor-wise. Good luck with yours x
This is beautiful – I love it! What amazing twiggy things as well, so characterful. I love the idea of all your Easter making, I’m looking forward to doing some with my boys next week x
Thanks Lizzie. The kiwi branches are great. They grow tentacles that wind back around themselves, giving us these fab curly branches to work with. And fruit too. Yay for kiwis!
Have fun with your own Easter decorations and crafts. Xx
What a lovely idea, I think most people join in with decorating stairs at Christmas but I don’t normally bother any other time of year and this looks so pretty and would be great for Spring overall. Hope you had fun with the group X #HomeEtc
Thanks Lins. It is very easy bit makes a bold impression on anyone entering the house.
I love it – so cute and looks great. Easter is a great time for crafts and I love this idea. Thanks for linking up, much appreciated 🙂 Jess xx
#HomeEtc
Thanks Jess. It really is a very good time of the year for crafts.
Aaah it looks so magical!! 🙂 I love it!!!! Here’s another thing though — totally unrelated — how do your boys get on with uncarpeted stairs? I keep wanting to rip our stair carpet up and just paint the whole thing white, but is it more slippy/dangerous than carpet? #HomeEtc
Thanks Caro.
Initially we ripped up the carpet and had the varnished wooden steps but after two visitors slipped on the stairs, we relented and got these semi-circular carpet patches for the steps. They attach to the steps by a knd of double sided sticky tape. The overall effect is not as good as the plain wood, but it is safer for now.